Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Memorial Day is a time each year when we pause to remember those who laid down their lives for family, friends and freedom.

One week after the Pearl Harbor attack President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Those who long enjoy such privileges that we enjoy forget in time that others have died to win them.”

Freedom is never really free; it’s almost always bought with the blood of patriots.

The biggest battle we, as Americans, are facing today is the battle for the very soul of our nation.

We see it all around us every day.

The erosion of our society has been a slow process, but we’ve seen it accelerate rapidly in the just the past few years.

It really doesn’t matter whether there’s a Democrat or a Republican sitting in the Oval Office, this nation that we’ve all come to know and love continues to erode.

The position we’re in today is because of what we tolerated yesterday.

And, the position we’ll be in tomorrow will be because of what we tolerate today.

Not long ago was Easter, and over a month’s time, we find ourselves back in the book of Revelation

We left off in the middle of the seal judgments.

The seal judgments of flow directly out of the throne-room vision of , as Jesus, the worthy one, begins to open the scroll by breaking its seals.

Each of the judgments (seals, trumpets, bowls) includes seven parts.

The first four judgments involve natural disasters on the earth; the last three are cosmic disasters.

There are several views about how to understand this series of judgments—seals, trumpets, bowls, but lets just look at the correct way:

Recapitulation View

According to this view, the three sets of judgments repeat each other (are cyclical); they present three ways of viewing the same judgments.

Because the trumpets and the bowls have the same order, many have concluded that the three sets are repetitive.

In addition, in all three sets, the first four of the seven judgments are very similar, as are the last three of each set of seven.

Exact repetition, however, occurs at best only in the trumpets and bowls, so this view does not follow a timeline of events.

The Consecutive View of the Judgments

This view holds that judgments will follow in the order described in Revelation: first the seals, then the trumpets, then the bowls—in other words, Revelation is describing twenty-one separate events.

Thus, chapters 6–16 in Revelation would be essentially chronological.

The seals destroy one-fourth of the earth; the trumpets destroy one-third; the bowls affect everything.

The seventh seal opens the Trumpet Judgments, and the seventh Trumpet calls forth the Bowl Judgments as if they are telescoping out from one another.

This view takes the most literal and natural approach in interpretation.

This makes the most sense when considering that the wrath seems to be one of progressive intensity.

Progressive Intensification View.

The key to this view is understanding the results of the judgments.

The seals destroy one-fourth of the earth; the trumpets destroy one-third; the bowls affect everything.

The picture seems to be one of progressive intensity, with each of these sets of judgments ending in the same place—that is, the end of history.

Transition:

So you may recall that the first four seals from chapter 6:1–8 are the colorful “four horsemen of the apocalypse” and function as preliminary judgments that God has really allowed throughout human history - as resulting in the suffering of God’s people at the hands of sinners— Jesus calls these first judgement in the “beginning of birth pains.”

As a result, when the fifth seal is opened (6:9–11), John sees the souls of martyred believers in heaven.

With the opening of the sixth seal (6:12–17), there is no more delay, and unbelievers now face the wrath of God and the Lamb.

encourages us to stand strong as faithful witnesses regardless of any opposition we may face.

So The first four seals (6:1–8) function as preliminary judgments that God allows to operate throughout human history, sometimes resulting in the suffering of God’s people at the hands of sinners.

As a result, when the fifth seal is opened (6:9–11), John sees the souls of martyred believers in heaven.

They cry out to the sovereign Lord for justice and vindication.

God’s response is to assure them of victory and instruct them to wait a bit longer.

With the opening of the sixth seal (6:12–17), there is no more delay, and unbelievers now face the wrath of God and the Lamb.

As with the trumpet and bowl judgments to follow, when we come to the end of each series, we have arrived at the end of history (cf.

6:12–17; 11:15–19; 16:17–21).

encourages us to stand strong as faithful witnesses regardless of any opposition we may face.

Scripture Reading:

We should expect to suffer as a result of bearing witness to Jesus.

As mentioned earlier, God’s people have always suffered opposition.

This passage ties suffering directly to the act of witnessing.

The martyrs’ most important act was not dying but witnessing faithfully.

Revelation never encourages us to seek out persecution, but it does call us to live faithfully no matter what the costs.

Although we can often avoid trouble by staying silent, following Jesus means we sometimes must speak up in his name.

The martyrs’ cry, “How long, Sovereign Lord,” is a prayer that has been prayed by God’s people many times before and since.

In his merciful sovereignty, God is patient and long-suffering, but he will eventually act to right wrongs and condemn evil.

Transition:

We can persevere in faithfulness because we know that one day God will judge evil and vindicate his people, But notice first it started with a prayer:

I.

The Plea (vv.9-11)

The scene shifts from the first 8 verses from earth to heaven with the opening of the fifth seal, and John sees the souls of slain believers beneath the altar.

The opening verses to this section is a heartfelt prayer.

Heaven is often portrayed as a temple in Revelation, complete with an altar.

There is only one altar in Revelation, and it seems to unite the themes of sacrifice and prayer.

Like John, these martyrs had experienced persecution because of the “word of God and the testimony” of Jesus.

Like Jesus, the sacrificed Lamb, they too had been “slain”.

Now, however, they wait in God’s presence, under his protective care.

The souls of those who had been slain are under the altar.

That is a picture of the fact that the death of Christ followers is considered by God to be a priestly, sacrificial act.

It is also under the altar that they are made righteous and pure by the blood of the Lamb.

While they affirm God’s holiness and truth, perfect character qualities for executing justice, they question his timeliness.

God’s people have often asked him, “How long?” as a matter of pleading for justice .

The martyrs first ask when God plans to judge the “those who dwell on the earth,” a phrase used throughout Revelation to portray unbelievers who rebel against God and persecute his people.

Second, they ask when God plans to “avenge” their blood

This is an imprecatory prayer—a prayer for vengeance against God’s enemies.

Just as David had written psalms that called for vengeance against his enemies (for example, ; ), so these martyrs asked for vengeance and vindication against the people who belong to this world.

These words may sound harsh when used in prayer, but the martyrs were calling for God’s justice, and they were leaving the vengeance to YHWH.

God promises to help the persecuted and to bring judgment on unrepentant sinners.

I think that most of us can really relate to the prayer of these saints.

We look around at the wickedness, pain, suffering and evil in the world around us and we’re ready to join in the chorus – “how long?”